Drilling rigs, gas wells, and farms are scattered along the way, so the scenery can't be called outstanding. Yet I think it is worth running stretches like this now and then. It's a good reminder that for most of its length, this (like nearly all western rivers) is a working river, serving the needs of farmers, ranchers, manufacturing, and of course the supply of water to urban areas. Perhaps the people who stick only to closely protected, permitted sections get a distorted perspective of the rivers of the west and forget how much has been lost to, and is required by, the civilization we take for granted.